Catching Up

Despite the unseasonably cool weather, we had a lovely Easter weekend. Saturday was sunny, but a tad on the chilly side. Still, it didn't stop the kids from having fun at the church egg hunt. Easter Sunday was rainy (all day) and very cold. I felt like a bad mom for making Sarah wear her sandals with her dress, but any other shoe would have looked really silly. So, yes, I let fashion trump warmth. Despite the gross weather, it was an awesome morning worshiping at church. Even though I much prefer contemporary worship, I couldn't help but grin from ear to ear when we sang the traditional "Jesus Christ is Risen Today" with the trumpets blaring at the contemporary service.



April 17th was Andrew's 2nd birthday. We met my parents for breakfast and play at McDonald's and we ate out as a family for dinner. On Saturday we had a very low-key gathering at our house to celebrate. On his birthday I wanted to see how cute he would look in his new underwear. I caught him at just the right time and he did a number 2 on the potty. He is showing some good signs that he is getting close to the right time to potty train. I need to let him mature just a little bit more and I need to mentally gear up to take the diapers away.

Road Warriors Part 2

Day 9:
We spent two nights and one full day with Janet (Michael's sister) and Josh in Wilmington, North Carolina. We had a fun day of seeing the area in spite of the persistent rain. We took a ferry ride over to the aquarium on Cape Fear. After that we drove around downtown Wilmington, which is a quaint and beautiful downtown, and visited the shops at the old Cotton Exchange building. When we returned home, Janet and Josh prepared a gourmet feast for us (she's a professional!).



Days 10-12:
On our drive from Wilmington to Charlotte, NC we met Susie and Ella for lunch (Hannah was in school). Susie was in our travel group to Vietnam and Ella and Sarah were adopted at the same time from Ninh Thuan. After a great two hour lunch visit we were on our way to Chuck (Michael's brother) and Susan's home for the weekend.

We had a wonderful time in Charlotte and it was a great way to wrap up our vacation before making our way home. Their boys are 3 yrs. and almost 1 yr. and our kids loved playing with their cousins. On the drive to Charlotte Sarah kept saying that she wanted baby Carson to laugh at her. He did not disappoint her either. I couldn't believe how happy that made her.

My sis-in-law Susan and I get along so well. The guys were gracious enough to give us two kid-free shopping outings to the local outlet malls and she and I went to work stimulating the local economy. My favorite was the Pottery Barn outlet, where I bought Sarah a quilt and sham for her new bed - I paid just under $50!

Chuck's new hobby is smoking Boston Butt (pork shoulder) and making his own western Carolina BBQ sauce. It was delicious!

As you can see in the pictures below, Sarah and Joshua didn't get along at all! (wink)

Susie and me with our girls.

Sunbathing outside the restaurant.

Ella and Sarah

My two handsome boys.

Sweet baby Carson and Andrew.

Joshua and Sarah

Helping Uncle Chuck make Saturday morning pancakes.

Hiding out in the pantry.

Andrew kept climbing into the swing.

"Can I have another turn?"

Playing "Puppy."

"Woof!"

Joshua's turn.

Day 13:
Sadly, it was time to say goodbye and begin the journey home. From Charlotte we drove to Clemson, South Carolina. There is a student from our church at school there, so we decide to call on her for lunch. It's a beautiful campus and I was excited to see it again. (Long story short, I made a last minute decision to go to OSU instead of Clemson- you know, back in the day.) From there we made our way to Atlanta, where we had dinner with one of Michael's high school friends. We ended our day in Birmingham, AL.

Day 14:
This was, by far, the hardest day in the car. The kids were pretty restless in the morning. But, an extended lunch stop in Little Rock wore them our for their naps and we made it across the Oklahoma border before they woke up.

Wrap up:
Whew, it was quite a trip! It definitely had its highs and lows. As many of you know, traveling with small children is not an easy task. The actual car travel was a breeze, surprisingly. It was nearly impossible to maintain their exact sleep/nap/meal schedule on this kind of a trip. There were days when we were able to plan things around their normal schedule, but there were many more days when we could not. Sarah has a hard time adapting to new sleeping arrangements, so that also created a challenge. As a result of all the above, we had to deal with more whining and tantrums. We kept having to remind ourselves that we were asking a lot of two small children. It was definitely a good tag team effort between the two of us and it was a wonderful opportunity for our little family to spend so much uninterrupted time together. It was also a good opportunity for our kids to get to be around their relatives. I can't believe how many people we managed to see along the way! (Lunch with Susie and dinner with Michael's high school friend, Erin, happened because of Michael's Facebook status updates.) Now I think Michael and I need a getaway to catch up on our sleep. I think Charleston will do! :)

Road Warriors Part 1

Fourteen days and 2900 miles later, we are home and nearly settled back into a normal routine after our "Southern Tour." (We actually returned last week.) We decided to make a scheduled 6 day family vacation to Hilton Head, South Carolina into an extended two week driving trip, seeing friends and family along the way. I have to confess that I am slightly obsessed with the south. Even though I am technically a Yankee, raised in Minnesota and Massachusetts, I have always wanted to be a southerner. Michael can vouch for me that I even got giggly at the first sighting of a Piggly Wiggly. :)

Day 1:
Leaving in the wee hours of the morning proved to be our best move in making the long (12 hour) drive to Birmingham, AL. While the kids didn't really fall back asleep, we were to Little Rock before the shock of being snatched from their beds so early wore off. After a 25 minute break, we were on the road to Memphis. Books and car games occupied them until it was time to stop for lunch in Mississippi, just outside of Memphis. An hour long stop at a Chic-fil-a (God bless the indoor playground) wore them out for their afternoon naps. We took a final stretch break about 1.5 hours outside of Birmingham and then busted out a Nick Jr. DVD to sail us the rest of the way in without one tantrum in the car. (Andrew did lose it at Chili's during dinner... Who can blame him?)

Day 2:
From Birmingham we had a short jaunt to Macon, GA (south of Atlanta) to see our friends Jason and Jill and their two adorable boys Ethan and Wyatt. Michael and Jason went to college together and they were both dorm directors during grad school. It was great to see them again and to see their children in person.

As you can see, Ethan and Sarah got along just fine.

Michael, Sarah, Ethan, and Jason

Jill and me with Andrew and Wyatt.

Day 3:
From Macon, we made our way to Hilton Head. It was another relatively short day in the car. We arrived at the resort and met up with my parents. They have timeshare through Marriott, so we had a beautiful 3 bedroom condo to call home for the week.

Days 4-7:
My brother Brian and his family arrived the day after us. We spent the next few days enjoying walks on the beach, swimming in the indoor pool, touring the surrounding area, eating, and visiting.

Andrew was so pleased with the seagulls.

All through the south the azaleas were magnificent.

Papa Roy with the grand kids.

We were surrounded by beautiful salt marshes.

We spent a day in beautiful Savannah, GA. This is the church used in Forrest Gump.

Spanish moss hanging from the old oak trees.

My parents with the kids at Forsyth Park in Savannah.

Taking a stroll through a salt marsh preserve. We didn't see any alligators, but we should could hear the males.

My parents planned some fun little activities for the kids - like this egg hunt for Sarah, Andrew, and Lauren.

Checking out his shell collection.

Day 8:
Brian, Kathy, and Lauren headed to the airport to return to Louisville, and we headed north with my parents for a day in Charleston. From a very tender age I have longed to see Charleston. I used to beg my parents to take me. The few hours of our day trip there was simply not long enough and I didn't even get to tour one home!!! Tragic! Anyway, Michael and I are already talking about going back someday without the kids. After a too-short walking tour of the city, we said our goodbyes to my parents and made our way north to Wilmington, NC.

Michael and me in front of the pineapple fountain in Charleston.